Janus leads Slovaks to upset over USA

January 2, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Slovak hero Jaroslav Janus smiles after stoning Team USA in their huge upset at the WJC.

Image Courtesy IIHF Official Site

Sometimes, all it takes is a hot goalie for a team to lose. That was precisely the case in Slovakia’s huge 5-3 upset over USA in the WJC quarterfinals getting 46 saves from Jaroslav Janus eliminating the Americans earlier at Scotia Bank Place in Ottawa.

The 19 year-old stood on his head allowing his team to advance to the semis for the first time since 1999 despite a 30 shot discrepancy in which USA outshot them 49-19.

With his team nursing a 3-1 lead following a strong first in which Adam Bezak, Tomas Tatar and Josef Molnar tallied, Janus was outstanding stopping all 16 shots in the second period dominated by the Americans, who held a 16-2 edge.

Their best chance came late in the stanza when a rebound was sitting for Tyler Johnson to bury five feet out but his shot ticketed for upstairs was miraculously gloved by a recovering Janus for highway robbery. Sensing an upset, the pro-Slovak crowd which included plenty of Canada supporters began to make more noise giving a loud ovation following the big stop.

In the third, Ron Rolston’s club continued to carry the play getting shots through traffic and going hard to the net looking for rebounds. The strategy finally paid off when defenseman Jonathon Blum followed up a Colin Wilson try cutting the deficit to one with 13:14 left.

Trailing by one, they pressed for the equalizer but couldn’t beat Janus, who refused to wilt in the face of adversity. His teammates gave him some much needed help when Richard Panik beat USA D Ian Cole wide and got a shot on a shaky Thomas McCollum, who couldn’t handle the rebound and watched as it trickled off a teammate past him for a backbreaking goal restoring a two-goal Slovak lead with 8:22 remaining.

It went to video review to make sure the closest Czech Tatar didn’t bat it in with his glove. Once it held up, the crowd roared.

“They buried their chances,” lamented a disappointed James vanRiemsdyk whose backhand deke goal five-hole came too late at 58:42 following a Tatar empty netter.

“We had a lot of confidence even when it was 4-2. We still thought we could win.”

With McCollum pulled again for an extra attacker, the Americans didn’t give up getting a couple of big chances to make things more interesting but a sharp Janus with a sprawling save allowing his team to breathe easier and celebrate the enormous upset.

It’s the first time in eight years USA won’t be in the medal round.

For a jubilant Janus who was tabbed the game’s top star to more thunderous cheers, it was the biggest highlight of his career:

“After the shootout against Finland, I felt good and felt I would play a strong game today. This is one of the biggest moments ever for our junior team, and it’s a great feeling.“

Well deserved.

For Team USA, it’s certainly a devastating loss which the team took hard with many long faces during the postgame festivities that included the playing of the Slovakian national anthem with the entire team singing and then celebrating in a circle afterwards.

They just didn’t finish. There were plenty of opportunities. But it was the Slovaks who came out quickly getting the first goal and never trailed. As a disappointed Rolston noted during an on-ice interview, his team played catch up the rest of the night.

Maybe playing such a physical game against Canada two days prior affected them. Whatever the reason, even if vanRiemsdyk was hurting along with linemate Jordan Schroeder, who paced the team in scoring with 12 points including a helper in defeat, they didn’t get it done and now will come home empty handed.

Meanwhile, Slovakia advances to a semifinal showdown against Sweden with no pressure on them.

“We’ve got nothing to lose tomorrow against Sweden,” pointed out Molnar. “They beat us 3-1 in the group game, but we have a hot goalie.”
The second quarter is underway between Russia and Czech Republic with no score so far. I’ll have something after as will Hasan on the Devils home tilt versus the Canadiens with New Jersey up 2-1 after one on goals from Brian Gionta and Zach Parise. According to WFAN tandem Matt Loughlin and Sherry Ross, both sounded weak on Montreal backup Jaroslav Halak.

The Islanders are also in action later at Phoenix aiming for two straight in 2009. The Rangers visit the Capitals tomorrow.